Macklemore on stage before the 2017 NRL grand final when he performed his song Same Love.
Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The US rapper, Macklemore, issued a call for equality after an emotional performance of his hit single, Same Love, in a much-hyped pre-game show at the NRL grand final.

The performance at ANZ Stadium in Sydney follows a bizarre week in which the hip-hop artist became the focus of national attention due to his decision to play the song as part of his setlist in the midst of the campaign surrounding Australia’s non-binding, voluntary postal survey on marriage equality.

Macklemore has previously described Same Love as a song that “deals with equal rights, human rights” for LGBTI people. “This is an issue that I feel strongly about, that I feel passionate about. These people are human beings that should have the exact same rights as everybody else,” he said.

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While he did not reference the marriage equality campaign directly, the rapper did slightly alter the lyrics in the third verse of Same Love to call for “the country” to be united by law, and closed out the performance with a call for “equality for all”.

Same Love was performed with Mary Lambert, who describes herself as “hella gay”, and who has also vocalised her support for the yes campaign in Australia over the past week.

Mary Lambert (@marylambertsing)

Just landed in Sydney and feeling super gay! The gayest! Gay gay gay gay also ps Same Love is number 1 in Australia today 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈 https://t.co/ekzlYxwZwB

Macklemore kicked off his set with the 2012 hit Can’t Hold Us, making his way through the stadium’s corridors in a silver velour jacket, surrounded by dancers, high-fiving Cowboys great Johnathon Thurston on his way through, before making his way out into the arena.

He followed it up with the bouncing beats of Thrift Shop and Downtown followed by Same Love. He then closed out his set with Glorious.

During the performance, the stage was surrounded by large clusters of multicoloured balloons which were thrown about by the audience.

Macklemore’s performance was immediately followed on Channel Nine’s telecast of the match between Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys by an advert from the anti-marriage equality campaign group, Coalition for Marriage.

Prior to travelling to Australia, Macklemore told LA radio station Power 106 that he was “getting a lot of tweets from angry old white dudes in Australia” in the lead-up to his performance, but the attempts to prevent him from playing the song were only going to make him “go harder”.

LadiesWhoLeague 🌈 (@LadiesWhoLeague)

I was there when @macklemore and the @NRL sang for diversity and inclusion. Greatest game of all. #NRLGF 🌈🌈🌈🌈

Turnbull’s comments came a day after the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, lent his support to a petition from former rugby league player Tony Wall to ban Macklemore from performing Same Love, tweeting: “Footy fans shouldn’t be subjected to a politicised grand final. Sport is sport!”

Liberal senator Eric Abetz also called for the song to be banned, as did another former prime minister, John Howard, and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson – though Hanson admitted in an interview on Sunrise on Thursday that she did not know who Macklemore was, and seemed more concerned with the fact that he was not Australian.

Despite politicians’ calls to keep politics out of the game, this is not the first time a musician has performed politically charged material at the NRL grand final. In 2015, Cold Chisel performed their hugely popular song about a wayward Vietnam veteran, Khe Sanh; in 1991, the Village People performed their gay anthem YMCA; and in 1989, John Williamson performed his anti-logging single, Rip Rip Woodchip.

Stephen Murray (@smurray38)

Kids, gather round and let me tell you about the 1989 Grand Final, with an environmental theme, and Rip Rip Woodchip sung by John Williamson pic.twitter.com/aJyIc6Fq8c

Its position is reportedly due to the intervention of the only openly gay NRL player in history, Ian Roberts, who wrote directly to NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg asking him not to “miss this moment in history”.

Greenberg said in response that the NRL had a “a duty” to back up its policy of “inclusiveness” with action. “We need to treat everyone equally both on and off the field and that’s why we will publicly support the same-sex marriage proposal,” he said.

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A representative from the NRL told Guardian Australia on Wednesday that “Macklemore was chosen as the grand final act because he is currently one of the top acts in the world”. The NRL also said in a statement on 1 September that Macklemore had been “specifically requested by a fan focus group”.

Reports on Sunday that bags would be searched and rainbow flags or other marriage equality campaign propaganda would be banned were denied by ANZ Stadium, who said fans were “encouraged to bring colour and energy to the event and are allowed to express their views,” and that “small flags and banners” were permitted.